Countdown From Zero
by SilvCyanide
Summary: Ever since he was young, Shinichi has always remembered his band to be stationary at zero while everybody else had a proper countdown. A series of events, however, seem to want to prove him wrong. KaiShin/countdowntimer!soulmates!AU. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own DCMK, it belongs to a 40+ year old male billionaire which I most definitely am not considering I am a female and dirt poor.

 **Pairings:** KaiShin (KaitoXShinichi) AKA Yaoi/Shounen-ai

 **Notes:** You don't have any idea how embarrassing it was for me to write this considering I've never written serious fluff/romance before and blatant yaoi is definitely something new . (Also, trying out new format for writing author notes at the top of stories) This is an AU where Kuroba Toichi dies earlier than in the series and not how he died in MK but other than that everything is the same, well, bar a few small things.

 **Prompt:** countdown to meeting soulmate on wrist

 **Summary:** Ever since he was young, Shinichi has always remembered his band to be stationary at zero while everybody else had a proper countdown. A series of events, however, seem to want to prove him wrong.

 **now**

 **May 4th**

When Kudou Shinichi was born, the brilliant indigo band embedded in his wrist showed a startlingly short countdown -four years, one month, two weeks and three days- and although it wasn't completely unheard of, it was rare enough that maybe only one-in-ten thousand would have a countdown shorter than five years. Secretly, Kudou Yukiko had always fantasized that it would be Eri- _chan_ 's daughter who she heard they were going to name Ran and that their two families could be joined together. Those hopes were mostly dashed once she saw the band in her son's wrist but she felt a deep curiosity stirring inside her. The colour of one's band was determined by the colour of their soulmate's eyes and she wondered who could possibly have indigo eyes and would potentially meet her son in a few years. Not to worry, she grinned to herself as Yusaku shot her a wondering glance, once the time came she would know and you could bet she was going to meddle. It was her son's happiness at stake after all!

 **one month, two weeks and three days later**

 **June 21st**

Kuroba Chikage cradled her newborn son, a look that brimmed with affection directed at him. She gently picked up his arm and stared at the deep azure band on the wrist. When he was born, she had been surprised to see that it said three years exactly. That meant that her adorable Kaito was going to meet his soulmate on his third birthday, how exciting. It was unfortunate that it probably wouldn't be Nakamori- _chan_ 's daughter, since she doubted that with their houses next door Kaito would not meet with Aoko -whose birth date was predicted to be in September and that she had been named after her birth stone by insistence of Ginzo- before his third birthday. It wouldn't be long.

 **four years later**

 **June 21st**

Yukiko hugged a pouting Shinichi as she stepped up to the front door of the Kurobas' residence and rapped slightly on the hardwood door. Shinichi squirmed in her hold, her grip loosening enough that he was able to slip free and stood on the rough gravel, a small pink flush on his cheeks. Yukiko frowned at him with a mildly displeased expression but inwardly she was slightly worried, usually Shinichi wasn't so fidgety nor did he protest her hugs(much). A muffled voice from inside the house distracted her and she failed to notice Shinichi slip away from her side, padding along the side of the house as Kuroba Chikage opened the door and ushered her in.

Shinichi was glad to be free from his slightly too cuddly mother. The garden of the house they were at was brightly decorated for the birthday party and he walked on unsteady legs towards the rose bushes near the back of the house. He scratched lightly at the timer band as he drifted towards an unknown direction. It was tingling slightly and he felt a slight pull towards a spot behind the rose bushes. He stumbled and caught himself on a nearby chair and when he looked up, it was to a gentle burning in his wrist and the gaze of indigo eyes. He yelped and fell backwards as a madly grinning boy emerged from behind a yellow rose bush. He extended a hand forward and a soft pink rose appeared in his hand which he presented to Shinichi before introducing himself loudly and excitedly.

"I'm Kuroba Kaito! Nice to meet you!"

"K-Kudou Shinichi."

An uncharacteristic shyness overcame him and he stuttered out his name as he reached out a hand to accept the rose, fingertips brushing across Kaito's and an electrifying feeling shooting up his arm. He gasped and jerked back, seeing the shock in Kaito's eyes as he did the same. A buzzing began in his wrist and he looked down to see that the countdown had ticked down to zero.

He was about to say something when there was loud shouting, gun shots and the smell of something burning along with the screams of many people. He distantly felt Kaito grab his wrists and tug him along to the front of the yard, much too entranced by the terribly orange flames licking at the house. There were bodies littering the ground and he faintly felt Kaito being yanked away from him, before shortly being squeezed to death in a bone crushing hug. He heard his mother cry into his hair but his eyes continued to be entranced by one of the bodies lying on the ground. It was the man that his mother had said was her teacher, Kuroba Toichi and there was blood pooling around him, leaking out from the bullet wounds and staining his shirt.

 _Blood._

 _He was dead._

 _Like the victims in father's case files._

 _Murdered._

Shinichi fainted.

 **eight years, ? months, ? weeks, ? days later**

 **?**

Shinichi sat down on the park bench and rubbed at his wrist. It was aching again and he had no idea why. As far as he could remember, his timer had always been at zero and he had simply accepted that he didn't have a soulmate, and he said as much to Ran, that it didn't bother him and that a soulmate would just be another distraction anyway. He knew she didn't buy it and it was true. Sometimes when he was alone in the house with a cup of hot tea in hand and a mystery show turned on in the background, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a soulmate. He knew that the band would tingle and burn when one was near their soulmate and also that some people were born with a timer that was zero from day one. That meant that they did not have a soulmate or that they had already met their soulmate. Briefly he entertained the thought that _maybe_ he had already met his soulmate but he was sure he'd remember meeting someone like that. Shinichi leaned back against the wooden backing of the bench and relished the cool night air that whooshed past his throat delightfully cold and tickled his cheek. The night sky was a deep and velvety indigo and stars hung high up, twinkling cheerfully.

 _Like Kaito's eyes_

Wait, who was Kaito? Why did he think that? He didn't know anybody named Kaito, though the thought brought a burst of warmth and a sense of _rightness_ to his body. The way the name sounded felt like it would dance delightfully off his tongue and he shuddered, groaning into his hands. His band twinged.

 _Great, I'm fantasizing about somebody who probably doesn't even exist._

Out of the gaps in his fingers, he thought he could see the shadow of a purple-eyed boy.

 **3 years, ? months, ? weeks, ? days later**

 **?**

He's sixteen but he looks six. Shinichi -or rather Conan now- rubbed at his - _too young_ \- face with his - _too small_ \- hands and glanced down at his - _too petite_ \- body. He's sitting on an armchair in his family library and it registers that his legs can't even touch the floor anymore. What if he's stuck like this, he thinks despairingly, gritting his teeth and hopping off the chair, landing with a thump that _should not be there_ and flicks on the television, if only just to have something to distract himself from his panic because he couldn't think straight at this moment and he doubts driving himself insane would help his situation much. Flipping through the channels, Shinichi tried to find something good to watch but it was turning to be pretty much a wasted effort.

" **-** ive me ba-!"

 _click._

"-ame is Bo-!"

 _click._

"-love yo-."

 _click._

"-murders at Beik-"

 _click._

Wait, murders?

Conan hurriedly pressed the back button on the remote control, overshooting the channel and having to go forward a few channels before getting back to the news but it was already too late. The news about the murders in Beika had ended and instead they were showing a video, probably taken by one of the on site cameramen. It was a video of… a thief?

It _was_ a thief and by the looks of it, not a very sensible one seeing as he was currently dressed in pure white with a silk mantle and top hat. He seemed to fling something onto the ground, sending a burst of bright pink smoke billowing into the air and the surrounding police officers reeling.

That wasn't what caught his attention though, what really caught his attention was the stunning indigo eyes that flashed with a mischievous light. It caused a burn to travel up his arm and he grasped his wrist, massaging the skin around the band and feeling a slight blush travel to his cheeks.

What.

Dimly Conan registered the reporter saying something but his eyes were riveted. He was snapped out of his reverie when the on site reporter finally said the thief's name.

"-and Kaitou KID has escaped yet again! Nakamori- _keibu_ has just come out of the building. Please keep following us as we ask for a comment!"

He breathed out in a tiny whisper that honestly sounded weird when said in his six year old voice.

"KID…"

 **0 years, 7 months, ? weeks, ? days later**

 **?**

Conan's chest burned with pain and he gasped for breath as he tried to get his legs to run faster. He finally reached the rooftop just in time to see KID hold the heist jewel -a ruby named 'Blood Carnation'- up to the moonlight. He breathed hard and readied a soccer ball, even as the Moonlight Thief turned around and the jewel slid into his sleeve. His soulmate band was burning again, a warm, soothing burn -it seemed to be doing that recently- and his fingers twitched towards his wrist. Briefly, he thought he saw KID's eyes widen under the top hat and behind the monocle. He also thought he saw KID's own white gloved hand shake and the sleeve sliding back slightly to reveal a azure band around his wrist but it was only a short moment before KID recovered, sending him a mocking salute, a strangely tender smile and jumped off the roof, soaring away to deafening cheers and frighteningly enough, something that sounded like gunshots.

Cursing under his breath, Conan rushed towards the edge of the roof, catching the glint of a rifle in the opposite building before it disappeared. His heart thumps in his chest, from fear, from adrenaline and maybe a little more.

His band burned hotter than ever.

 **1 year, ? months, ? weeks, ? days later**

 **?**

He's eighteen and finally back. Although the Black Organisation hasn't been taken down yet(some of its branches still ran loose), Gin, Vodka, Chianti, all of the codenamed members have been put in jail with Anokata facing the death sentence. He's welcomed back with a tearfully worried hug from Ran -as well as a painful beating- and it feels _great_ to be back in his body.

At night, however, he's bothered by dreams. Dreams of an indigo eyed boy that he still cannot name. Dreams of the death of someone close to his family. Dreams that more often than not leave him jerking awake and gasping for air, crying his soul out. Even now, he still cannot fill in that blank in his memories and it's beginning to drive him crazy.

He's walking down the deserted street at night in the wee hours of the morning after the latest KID heist, hands stuck firmly in his pocket and breath turning to glistening crystals of frost in the frigid air. His band tingles(again) and he's drawn towards a particular alley and startlingly enough, gunshots ring out from it along with the collapse of a body and the pounding of footsteps as whoever fired that gun run away. Shinichi hurried into the alley and comes across a sight that wrenches his heart into pieces and he doesn't even know why. His band burns white hot without the pain but he ignores it, all too used to the feeling and crouches by the fallen KID, harsh coughs wrecking KID's body in a way that is too bloody to be good. KID's hand is wrapped around his side, the blood already soaking his suit and the gloves.

KID is aware that he's there and tries weakly to get away. Shinichi's heart gives another shudder -seriously stop it!- and all of a sudden he's unbuttoned KID's jacket and working on the dress shirt. Ignoring the hands that try to push him away, he rips the shirt open to see a gaping wound in the left side of KID's stomach which is very distractingly glistening with sweat but he's not going to even think about that right now. The bullet has gone all the way through -thank goodness- and Shinichi shrugs off his jacket to press over the wound, trying to stem the blood.

His fingers press again KID's skin and unexpectedly, the burning in the band flares up and engulfs him. He can hear KID's gasp, feel KID tense up beneath his fingers but he's too consumed by the images that flash up to take notice. Suddenly, what happened almost fourteen years ago surges up into his brain, breaking out of their confines where they had been locked and labelled as 'traumatic memories' and-

He _remembers._

KID shifts slightly and there's a aerosol spray can in his face and he's suddenly blasted by a pink jet of sleeping gas. He struggles to stay awake but it's futile, KID's sleeping gas is _potent_ but just before he blacks out, he sees the azure band on KID's wrist, sees the zero displayed prominently on it and feels fingers carding through his hair, a whisper that sounds like, "Sorry, Shinichi." drifting into his ears before darkness completely fills his vision.

He wakes up in his bedroom -how did he get here?- with a warmth in his chest and a smile on his face. That can't hide the worry though.

KID is nowhere to be seen.

 **0 years, 8 months, ? weeks, ? days later**

 **June 21st**

The city -and practically the world- is in a hubbub. There have been gunmen sniping at KID and finally, after over two years they've finally been caught. Remains of the Black Organisation brought to justice slightly over half a year ago, lead by a moustached man with an unpleasant feel to him.

Shinichi tears his attention away from the television screen, interrupted by a hesitant knock on his front door. He opens it to find someone he wouldn't have ever expected.

KID is standing on his doorstep, looking heartbreakingly attractive and adorably embarrassed. Shinichi's throat clenches up and he suddenly forgets how to breathe. He couldn't deny that over the years, he's grown fond of KID and possibly even more, he isn't sure what this weird fuzzy feeling deep inside his chest is and he hesitantly names it 'Love'. A voice invites KID in and he faintly registers the voice as his own. His body steps aside without constant thought and KID removes his shoes at the doorway, warily trailing behind Shinichi like a puppy and Shinichi briefly entertains the thought of how cute he is.

At the entrance to the living room where the television is still blaring, a hand catches his upper arm and spins him around. He turns, startled, only to have a set of lips come crashing down on his and suddenly KID is kissing him. Kissing KID is interesting, it's warm and pleasant and makes him go boneless in his arms. He faintly tastes chocolate and vanilla and he finds himself wanting more. It is eternity before they break away and Shinichi feels the heat of a flush overtaking his face, the only consolation is that KID is also blushing just as hard. He breathlessly tries to form words but KID's lips are on his again and- Oh! Conscious thought is no longer possible.

"K-KID-"

"Kaito."

"W-what…?"

"My name is not KID, it's Kaito."

"Kaito…"

The television is left ignored in the background as Kaito begins a war between their tongues and his wristband is burning with a comfortable heat. It feels right being in Kaito's arms and Shinichi knows there's no place he would rather be.

 **-The End-**

 **A/N: You can't see my face right now but it's burning so hot and I am currently in awe that:**

 **1\. I wrote a kiss scene**

 **2\. I wrote yaoi**

 **3\. I wrote a yaoi kiss scene**

 **4\. I haven't died of blood loss through nasal cavity (AKA nosebleed) yet.**

 **This story was inspired by MANY other writers' stories and you could say I just gathered bits and pieces from those stories and squished it into a KaiShin fanfic sooooooooo…**

 **Yeah.**

 **Please favourite if you like it and review to tell me what you think about it. Thanks! Have a nice day!**

 **-SilvCyanide**


End file.
